In It For Life
by I'm a Veronica
Summary: Handsome Jack never actually died. And now, he knows where other vaults are located and just needs a siren. After finding and capturing a child siren, it is up to Lilith and Maya to stop Jack before yet another siren is forced to open a vault and release another eridian beast. Rated M for violence.
1. Chapter 1

As the Warrior collapsed into the lava, Handsome Jack knew that the Vault Hunters would kill him if they got the chance. So while the death of the Warrior kept everyone busy, he ducked behind a rock and left a double to get shot. He remained hidden until he was sure that the Crimson Raiders had left. The Hyperion CEO gets to his feet and heads to the closest fast travel point. He plugs in the coordinates to his hidden office in Opportunity and turns into pixels before fading away.

The inside of the office was filled with computer screens. On each screen, footage from a different security camera played. He plugs in his echo to a slot on the top of his desk. The device disappears and a blue screen appears over the slot in the desk. The map of all existing vaults blinks into existence, the same map that the Vault Hunters saw when Lilith touched the key.

"Now all I need is a siren... Lilith and Maya would never willingly help..." Jack says leaning over the desk, his hands braced over the edge of the wooden surface. "If only I had Angel... who gave me a list of known sirens!" he says hurriedly opening a file on sirens on his computer. The files were organized by the strength of the siren, and if the siren remains alive. At the top of the list of dead sirens was Angel, followed by Commandant Steele. With the list of living sirens, Lilith was at the top of the list. Closely followed by Maya and Amara. At the bottom of the list was a siren labelled as untrained. That raw potential is exactly what Jack needs. He clicks on the file labelled Springs and all of the cameras playing in the room switch to being the feed from a single camera in Hollow Point. The camera was positioned outside of Scooter's garage towards a small work station covered in gun parts. Sprawled out on the table was a girl that was about to be a teenager, maybe a young teen at the oldest. On her right hand, the blue tattoos showed because of the discarding glove on the table. A woman with a hood up and pieces of Crimson Lance armor on walks into view of the camera. She easily lifts the child into her arms and carries her on into the garage.

"Athena is with the young siren... well that will make this far more difficult..."

**A/N: So this chapter is only short because it is a prologue. The rest of the chapters will be longer. I still haven't played Tales of Borderlands in entirety (I started Episode 1 then got busy), and I've only played the others games once so if I ever go a bit out of character, I apologize. **


	2. Chapter 2

In It For Life

Chapter 1

It was hard to tell day from night in Hollow Point. Especially when you are not allowed to leave the underground city. Not even being allowed to play with the other children. At least on Elpis, she was allowed to fast travel to see Pickle. In other words… Lyall was bored. She wasn't even allowed to show her tattoos on Pandora. Athena said that it is too dangerous. That Hyperion will be searching for a siren now that Angel is dead and Lilith escaped. She just wants to see the sun again. Ever since the move, Janey or Athena were always watching her. Making sure that Janey's old brown jacket covered in in motor oil fully covered the 12 year old's torso. No matter the weather, always having to wear long, brown cargo pants. Really sucks during the summer. Well… it would be worse if she saw sunlight. The preteen was hiding behind the large metal garage. Pieces of light runners littered the ground.

Brown eyes glow purple as the light continues on down to Lyall's feet. A purple light envelops the engine to one of the light runners. 10 tons of metal shakily lifts into the air. It hovers a few inches above the cracked grey concrete. Long blonde hair fell into her face, eyebrows scrunched up in concentration.

"Lyall! Where are you!" Athena calls out from the side door. When she and Janey woke up, the kid was gone. The bedroom across the hall from the master room was empty. Normally Lyall would be the last to wake up, Janey normally having to drag her down to the garage after opening. The brown jacket was on the floor of the very messy bedroom.

"I'm out here!" Lyall calls over to Athena quickly dropping the engine on the ground. Her swirling tattoos stop glowing right as the ex-Atlas assassin runs over to the preteen, brown jacket in hand.

"You know the rules," Athena states stopping in front of her young sister-in-law. "Jacket. On."

Lyall's head hangs down as she takes the jacket and puts it on. "I hate the rules. It gets hot out here." The blonde whines squirming in the jacket. The taller woman roll her eyes before ruffling Lyall's hair.

"Janey and I have to pick something up in Fyrestone. We will be back in a couple of hours. Now say the rules to me, you clearly need a refresh," Athena says bringing Lyall inside the garage, leading her by the collar of the jacket.

"Stay inside, only open the door for Moxxi or Scooter, no explosions, and do not make a gun with legs," Lyall deadpans not fighting the fact that she is being herded inside. The second Athena let go, Lyall instantly ran over to a complete Elysian Green runner and climbed into the turret.

"Since when was building a gun with legs against the rules? That sounds bloody awesome!" Janey says as she walks over to Athena and plants a kiss on her cheek, immediately resuting in a pretend gag from Lyall.

"Ever since you married a buzzkill with no sense of humor," the younger blonde teases leaning down the side of the car.

"Your prototype shot me in the leg…" the gladiator deadpans, arms crossed not reacting to the kiss.

"And as a result, you got to take a week off of helping in the garage and had Janey fretting over your every need. You're welcome," the kid teases as she picks at the paint on the car.

"Just don't do anything stupid," Athena comments taking Janey's hand as they leave through the garage door.

Lyall waits until the door clanks shut before scrambling out of the runner. Inside of the work bench next to the runner, was a pistol. T4s-R to be exact. The young blonde grabs Athena's spare holster and attaches it to the right side of her pants. After putting Athena's T4s-R in the holster, Lyall runs over to the side door and opens it. Ever since the move, she had never been left alone. Until now. After the whole Lilith trying to kill Athena, Lyall was told to stay away from Sanctuary. However… she wanted to meet the sirens that live there. She loves Janey and Athena very much, but she is tired of hiding the fact that she's a siren. She has powers, she should use them. "Maybe Moxxi will let me stay with her for a while… I need a break from this prison."

The other residents were just starting to get ready for the day, few people were out on the streets. Which made it all the easier to slip between the buildings. It only took a few minutes for her to start approaching the fast travel point. Unknown to her, a skag nest was nestled in the rocks only 10 feet away from the machine.

As she goes to type in the coordinates to Sanctuary, five skag whelps suddenly charge her. Her breath gets knocked out as she falls onto the dirt covered ground. A skag jumps onto her chest and growls in her face. Swirling tattoos begin to glow as the skag whelp is surrounded by a purple light and thrown back into the four other skags. Black spots appear in her vision as she attempts to not pass out from the exertion.

Out of view, Jack watched the young siren from the top of the rock outcropping. 'Nisha, get the kid onto the ship, but leave the jacket," he orders before walking back to his Hyperion ship.

"Why leave the jacket?" Nisha asks using her Skullsmasher to snipe and kill the weak skags.

"As a message to Athena. Our old friend has been playing mommy to the kiddo we're rescuing… so let's leave her a little clue," Jacl says over the echo as Nisha jumps down to land next to Lyall.

The lawbringer shrugs and pulls a barely awake Lyall to her feet. It does not take her long to work the jacket off the preteen, making it fall onto the corpse of a skag. "So we're kidnapping a kid? Why not just return her to Athena?" Nisha asks slowly getting a stumbling Lyall to the ship that Jack moved closer.

"Nisha Nisha Nisha…. Athena had been refusing to let her reach her full potential. Keeping her prisoner. I just want to help the kid fulfill her destiny," Jack says helping Nisha strap the now asleep Lyall into a seat.

"After this, I'm out. This is wrong," Nisha says getting into the copilots seat.

"Fine by me," Jack shrugs getting into the pilots seat.

As the ship takes off to the head to Opprotunity, Athena and Janey materialize at the fast travel point.

"What is Hyperion doing out here?" Janey asks watching the ship fly off.

As Janey was speaking and watching the ship, Athena picks up the discarded blood stained jacket. "Janey… they have Lyall… we're going to need backup…"


	3. Chapter 3

In It For Life

Chapter 2

Music pounded against the walls of Moxxi's Up and Over Bar. Red lights streamed out into the streets of Sanctuary. Moxxi herself was behind the bar washing glasses. After a month of Handsome Jack being dead, the celebratory drinking had slowed down. So when she spotted Janey Springs walking in, she perked right on up. "Miss me, sugar? It's been quite a while since you and the kid came to visit. Where is the squirt anyways?" the big buxomed beauty asks leaning over the bartop as Janey sits on the stool in front of her.

The blonde's eyes were swollen and red from crying. In her hand was the bloodstained jacket that Athena always insisted on Lyall wearing. "I need a drink… the strongest you got." She says setting the jacket on the bartop.

Moxxi's eyes widen when she sees the blood on Lyall's jacket. "Did someone find out about her? You and Athena had been so careful with her…" she asks quietly setting a rakk ale in front of her old friend.

"There was a Hyperion ship leaving when Athena and I found the jacket. The coordinates for Sanctuary was plugged into the fast travel station… I think she was trying to come see you," Janey says before taking a swig of the ale.

"Janey, we will find her. Is Athena out looking for her? Maybe I can get some of the Crimson Raiders to help out," Moxxi offers putting her hand on Janey's as a way to comfort her.

"Athena… thinks that it's her fault. Lyall had been wanting to meet Lilith and Maya, Athena said no. So we think that Lyall got grabbed running away to stay with you…." Janey says putting her face in her hands.

"I'll go talk to Lilith and Maya. At least Maya will be willing to help, how about you stay here for the time being. Lyall will probably come here when she escapes," Moxxi says certain that the young Springs girl will find a way to escape.

"She's 12, she won't escape on her own… but please talk to the Crimson Raiders. I'm willing to pay them all my savings if they get her back safely," Janey says desperately. She just wanted her kid sister to be safe. Safe and back home.

"Go tell Scooter. He and Ellie can keep an eye out for the squirt. I'll close the bar for now," Moxxi says moving out from behind the bar. She puts a hand on Janey's shoulder. "I'll be back soon. Get as drunk as you want. Free of charge," she says before leaving the establishment. She closes the door to the bar before walking over to the Crimson Raider HQ uninvited. Tannis never even noticed the bar owner walking past her desk as the insane scientist chatters into another echo recording about how much Lilith doesn't like it when her hair is plucked out for science. "Lilith! Maya! I have a job for you two!" Moxxi calls out walking into the war room.

"We're busy hunting Vaults right now. Another time Moxxi," Lilith says studying the map with Maya as the other Vault Hunters muck about the room.

"So you don't want to hear about the child siren that had been reported missing?" Moxxi asks sauntering over to the table. She smirks as Maya looks up curious about the finding of a third siren.

"You located another siren? Where is she?" Maya asks moving away from the table. Another siren could mean another ally. In all honesty, she hadn't even heard the word missing after Moxxi said siren.

"How long have you known about the siren? What all do you know about her?" Lilith asks turning away from the table to look at the bar owner.

"I met the kid three years ago on Elpis. She's twelve now, her name is Lyall. Her power is something she calls the Phase Force. The first time I met her, she was making a moon zoomy levitate," Moxxi answers pulling up a picture on her echo. The picture was from a couple years ago. Lyall's dirty blonde hair only went to her shoulders, it was pulled back into a basic braid exposing the motor oil covering her face and clothes. "Hyperion kidnapped her a few hours ago. She was on her way here, either to see me or to talk to the two of you."

"Axton, Mordecai, you two work on finding the Vaults. Maya and I have a siren to go save," Lilith says grabbing a pyro SMG. "So Moxxi… wehre was the kid last seen? We need a starting point."

"Hollow Point," Moxxi replies before leaving the HQ. Now that the sirens were on the case, she could focus on comforting Janey.

Meanwhile….

The inside of the room was quite sparse. The walls and floor were as white as snow. A thin metal cot was pushed against the right wall, the five feet of it being the same length of the wall. About five feet across from the cot was a steel toilet bowl. Laying on the cot was the young siren. Her blonde hair covering her face making eye contact impossible. At some point, her blood stained shirt and pants had been swapped with a white tee shirt and white sweatpants with the Hyperion logo on the right leg.

The yellow and white cell door slides open as Handsome Jack waltzes on in. "Up and at 'em, cupcake. We have a lot of work ahead of us," he says shaking the shoulder of the kid.

Brown eyes blink awake as Lyall is roughly awakened. She slowly sits up and looks around the cell. Confusion filling her eyes. "Who are you? Where am I?" she asks pulling her knees up to her chest trying to make herself look smaller.

"So your big sister Athena never mentioned me…" Jack chuckles reaching out to grab Lyall's arm and pulls her up to her feet. "I'll explain soon, kid. Now let's get some food in you," the power hungry man says moving his hand to the skinny shoulder of the girl that barely stood past five feet. He leads her out of the cell and down the hallway towards his office. The large door slides open showing the large wooden desk with two chairs. One chair in front of the desk and the other behind. In front of the chair at the front of the desk, a cheeseburger and fries sat on a plate. "Eat up kid. We have a lot of work to do…"

**A/N: If you can't tell, I like the number 5. It's a nice prime number.**


End file.
